Rob Sussman

Fabloid LA This is an old one for LA Weekly. Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. I initially drew them as heralding the apocalypse, but then felt bad, like I and so many others were scapegoating them. More projection, perhaps, but it was really fun to draw. TribeLA Magazine Acrostic Interview with Rob Sussman.6 Special: Who or what holds a special place in your heart? How does this factor into your creative process? My sons have been the center of my life for 20+ years, lighting up my existence and offering great feedback (when they can be bothered). A couple teachers at Otis READ MORE

The landscape out the window is composed of buildings in Mexico — in Coyoacán and Guanajuato — where I spent a lot of time a few years ago. I love it down there. Feels more like home than here. The title’s a reference to the guy’s gesture, but could easily apply to any number of terminated habits, two of which are seen here.

Clockwise from upper left: Emma Goldman, Nina Simone, Walt Whitman, card back, James Baldwin, Marcel Duchamp, Angela Davis, card back, Henry Geldzehler, Margaret Cho. The deck was inspired by famed Greenwich Village jazz and comedy club the Village Gate. Over the course of its 35 year history, the 3-story club hosted everyone from Nina Simone to Noam Chomsky, Richard Pryor to the Velvet Underground. READ MORE

En Route to Père Lachaise – Interminable pointillist odyssey. I’d returned to LA from three weeks in Asia where, in the ancient city of Luoyang, capital of numerous Chinese dynasties, I had a kind of existential meltdown/breakthrough. All sorts of arbitrary habits and assumptions were thrown into high relief. I was drunk and felt like I was facing death. What Saul Bellow described as the dark backing of a mirror. READ MORE

Though named after a song by Can, I drew this upon hearing David Lynch talk about where great ideas come from. “Trillions and zillions of ideas,” he said, “and they’re all there, waiting to be caught.” I wanted to communicate that sense of abundance — a kind of blossoming, voluptuous life force. Fertility run amok. READ MORE

Backstory, Rob Sussman: Based off a quick sketch, this was my deepest exploration of graphite to date – pushing the tones as I exaggerated the features, integrating the levity of content into the process, and relaxing a bit to allow for a certain, simple harmony of elements. READ MORE

My sons have been the center of my life for 20+ years, lighting up my existence and offering great feedback (when they can be bothered). A couple teachers at Otis and SVA, my girlfriend, my mom, lots of amazing friends. Some favorite illustrators are Drew Friedman, Chris Ware, Zoe Matthiessen, Henrik Drescher. READ MORE